Back in Time
by Saesa omentien lle
Summary: This isn't the story of how we all know LOTR to be. Our heroes did not win the war. They lost their last hope. Thousands of years later, the Valar finds someone who they find worthy enough to partake in the task to correct the wrongs of the past. Not your typical 10th walker story. Our heroine has a few secrets that make her anything but ordinary. Mainly movie based. Slight AU
1. Prologue

**So, my fiance actually gave me this idea. A story where Sauron actually won the war. Not our heroes, and someone from the future was sent back by the Valar to correct the past. I couldn't get the idea out of my head, so I had to write it down. This is just the beginning. A small opening. A prologue is you will. For anyone who has read my other fic _Edge of Night,_ this is sadly not it's sequel. Although, I do have the first couple chapters written. I just have to go and edit them and everything first. Now, this story will not have a lot of fast updates. Then again, who am I kidding? I never set an actual schedule of when I update. It always get's twisted and warped and never stays on time. **

**I do want to thank everyone that is taking the time to read this. I'm afraid these first few chapters will kinda slow going. We won't see any familiar faces for a few chapters.** Thank you for reading.

 **Disclaimer: I do not own anything except my OC's.**

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This isn't your typical 10th walker fic. Sure, our heroine is going to be tagging along. Yet, she is anything but a normal mortal girl. She is not from another world. From another Earth. She is from Middle-  
Earth. Renamed Earth by the 7th age of men.

It has been 33, 877 years since the War of the Ring. It was now the year 2018 of the 9th age. Lots has changed in the years that have passed. The once wild plains were now gone, only a few wildernesses still exist. Civilization has now boomed into an age of evolution far beyond recognizing.

There were no elves left in the world, all had either sailed or faded into nothing over the years. Magic had slowly left the earth, Men now ruled and over the years, slowly the Earth's green was replaced with concrete and metal. No more dirt roads, they were now laden with asphalt and concrete bridges. Building were no longer stone, but now wood, metal and glass. Some stood as tall as towers, stretching high into the sky, like they were wanting to reach out and touch the vastness of above.

If there were dwarf's or Hobbits, they all but vanished from the Earth. Most likely all killed off ages ago, wiped out from existence. They were all myth now, made up legends to tell in Books or Bedtime stories. Over the ages, the earth's continents moved and shifted, the Valar hiding all that once was.

They called the current age, The Information Age (also known as the Computer Age, Digital Age, or New Media Age). An economy based on information technology. It was a nightmare. To those who were still around to see it. If any at all.

….

Why was the earth like this? Why had it changed so drastically? Well, because 33,877 years ago, the enemy of Middle Earth had won.

Arda was covered in darkness, and all things that were once alive were wiped away. The earth was burnt to ash under Sauron's rule. Out of those ashes though, a new hope rose and eventually, he was laid to rest for good. All other races were gone, all that was left was the world of man. What had caused this? Didn't our heroes win? What could possibly have occurred to create such a future?

Their last hope, died.

Stripped away at the very moment they needed him. Aragorn, the heir of Isildur, was killed before he could he could reclaim the throne. With him dead, the enemy was able to retake his ring and won the War. All was turned to dust afterwards.

The Valar searched and searched for someone, anyone they deemed worthy to right the wrong.

Finally, they found the one they were seeking. One girl, who could right the wrong of the past.

Twenty-four-year-old, Taylor Mason. She is the one now coming into this story. With a small stroke of bad luck and no amount of courage. Well, not courage enough for what was instore for her.

Shall we begin?

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New Earth - July 22, 2018

Coffee.

To some, it was the only bright spot in their hazy mornings. The smell of the ground coffee beans as hot water poured over them. Creating a pungent aroma that had many sighing in such satisfaction. It was their holy grail. The only heaven on this earth. Taking that first sip and sighing in pure pleasure at the tastes as it washed over your taste buds.

Then again, to others. It was foul and probably the most disgusting thing they had ever had the pleasure of smelling or tasting. We don't like these people. They threaten our happy coffee existence. Always sneering at us as we gulp, sip or chock on our coffee beverages. They did not know the happiness that came with having your first cup on a blasted Monday morning.

Taylor was feeling that right about now. Having woken up late as it was, she did not have time to make such deliciousness this morning. As she walked down the busy streets on this cloudy, over casted Seattle morning. She walked past a coffee shop and peered inside, letting out a frustrated sigh at the lengthy line.

She'd never get her coffee and make it to work in time. Not wanting to risk getting yelled at by her boss for being late again. She gripped her bag tightly in her white knuckled fist and trudged down the side walk. The gloom that covered the city was greatly reflecting her mood. She'd have to settle for some of the hideously tasting coffee in the employee lounge.

She had five minutes to get to her desk before her boss came out of his office and spotted that she was not there. 5 minutes. Her heels clicked across the ground as she hurriedly pushed her way inside the revolving doors and all but ran across the marble floors of the lobby.

She narrowly squeezed into the elevator as the doors closed and groaned out loud at seeing a little kid in the elevator with her. And guess what? All the lights were pushed for each floor. All 129 of them. She worked on the 113th floor. As they came to a stop at each floor, she spent her time glancing at her watch and glaring at the little boy. He wasn't even older than 6 or 7. Why was he in here alone?

His big, wide blue eyes gazed up at her in wonder and she watched as his head tilted. The blonde hair that fell around his face was slightly curled at the end. "Do you know where my mommy is?"

Why the hell would she know where his mother was? Or who she was for that matter? She opened her mouth to tell him just that but found herself hesitating. Blowing her breath out through her nose in annoyance she shuffled her bag to her other arm.

"I don't know your mom kid, but I can help you look for her. Do you know what floor she works on?" little guy shook his head and she resisted the groan that threatened to spill out. It was 7:59. One minute. "Look, I need to get to my desk. Come with me and I'll call someone to come get you and find your mom. How does that sound?"

She took note of the small frown on his face, but he nodded all the same. Finally, the elevator opened to her floor and she all but rushed out. She made sure the kid was following her as she walked briskly towards her desk.

Damn it. His door was open. Hopefully he hadn't come out yet. She was just placing her bag on the floor and fixing to sit down in her chair when she heard his throat clear behind her.

"Late again Ms. Mason."

Her eyes closed briefly as she stood up straight and turned to face her boss. He was a middle-aged man with peppered grey and black hair. His stern grey eyes were boring into her own and she had to remind herself not to fidget. He hated fidgets.

"Yes, I am sorry sir." She found herself saying after a pause. "This little boy was in the elevator and he's lost his mom and I was going to help him."

Her boss's immaculate brow rose in question as he glanced around. "Where is the child you speak of?"

She winced at the disbelieving tone in his voice. Turning her body, she looked behind her and promptly froze. Where was he? There was no child standing there anymore. Flabbergasted, she took a few steps forward and looked down the hall.

"What? He was just here." She said in confusion. Wasn't he? She made sure he followed her all they way to her desk. Turning back around to face her boss, she knew her face was showing her confusion. "He was just here!"

Her boss gave an annoyed sigh and leveled his overly stern gaze at her. "So, not only are you late, you have also lost a child somewhere in the building." She couldn't help the gulp when his jaw clenched in irritation. "I don't have time for such a reckless, none punctual assistant. Call security and pack your things. I think you're done here."

Her mouth opened in disbelief and she was going to argue, but he had already turned his back on her and closed the door to his office. She fell back in her, well her once chair, in shocked silence and stared at the closed mahogany door.

Fired? She had just been fired.

All because the power went out in her apartment building, making her alarm not go off. Then she tried to be a good Samaritan and help a little lot boy, who then pulled a Houdini act on her. Her mouth shut with an audible snap and she reached over to grab the phone on her desk and made a quick call to security before reaching down and grabbing her bag and a few personal items from her desk.

She fought back the angry tears as she made her way back to the elevators. All of this on a glorious Monday morning. She pushed a few strands of her darker than black hair from her face and looked down at her outfit.

If she knew she was just going to get fired today, she wouldn't have put on this ridiculous dress. All her slacks and skirts were dirty though, so she had no choice. Maggy London's Gathered Crepe Sheath Dress in red.

Positive note? She could now get coffee.

As she set about doing just that, her phone rang loudly in her bag. Purse, whatever you wanted to call it. Pulling it out, she grimaced at the name flashing on her screen. She did not want to speak with him now. Not after catching him with _her._ Shaking her head of such negative, depressive thoughts. She screened the call and made her way to the coffee shop she passed earlier.

The line was reasonable now. It only took about 15 minutes before she had her steaming white mocha latte in her hands. The first sip she took had her sighing in pure bliss. She sipped her coffee as she made the ten-minute walk to her apartment complex. She was about to walk inside when a flash of yellow caught her attention.

Looking down the sidewalk, she almost dropped her latte when she spotted the little boy from earlier standing on the sidewalk looing up at the top of one of the taller buildings. With a heavy and very annoying sigh, she decided to forgo going inside her apartment and started to make her way towards the little boy.

"Hey." She called out to him. His wide blue eyes met her own and she watched as he gave her a big smile before taking off running inside the building he was staring at. What the heck?

She followed him inside and looked around the hotel lobby she was now in. Where did he go? A flash of yellow disappeared behind the door that led to the stairs and she frowned as she made her way after him. She looked up, being able to see the stairwells above and spotted him several above her. He was staring down at her.

"Help me find my mommy?"

"Look kid, I don't have time for these games. I got fired because of you." Well that wasn't necessarily true, but he didn't need to know that. The boy turned away and started to run up the steps. For some reason, she felt compelled to follow him.

She was curing herself and him as she walked up all 28 flights, in her heels. The door to the roof was open and she hesitantly opened it and walked outside. She had to climb some other metal steps and push open a metal grate before she was standing on top of the hotel.

"Kid?" She called out as she looked around. She was about to give up and go back inside when she spotted him standing on the ledge, looking down at the street below. Panic flooded her. It didn't help, that at that time, the sky cracked open and rain started to fall on them in a heavy downpour

Now, where the hell did this come from? The weather didn't report any rain today. In seconds she was drenched, and she had to squint her eyes to see his yellow jacket through the rain.

"Kid! You need to get down from there!" She had to yell out to be heard over the roaring of the wind. Slowly, he turned to face her.

"You said you'd help me find my mommy."

Nodding, she took a few steps forward. The top of the hotel had a brick wall that stood about a foot and the ledge stuck out about two feet, because a bunch of statues that lined it.

"Yes, yes I did. So, come back over here and I will help you find her." She said softly as she crept over to the edge of the wall. "Just climb back over here." She motioned for him to come to her and she bit her lip when he shook his head and took a step back, coming closer to the end of the ledge.

She could see it in this kid's eyes. He wasn't going to come to her. Damn it. The rain was still pouring from the sky, pelting her skin harshly. Her long black hair whipped around violently as she wind picked up and she watched as it pulled the kid back closer and closer to the edge.

"I can't believe I am doing this." She muttered to herself as she placed her bag on the ground and carefully, lifted her leg over the wall and place her heeled foot on the concrete ledge. She had to take a few deep, calming breathes to steel her nerves as she brought her other leg over.

She slowly turned, her hands gripping the wall behind her as she whimpered softly. This was terrifying. Utterly terrifying. Her eyes were squeezed shut as she tried calm her heart and breathing down. What the hell was she doing? This was insanity! All for some kid she didn't know!

Taylor Mason was not a daredevil! She did not do things like this! Not in her lifetime. She always took the easy road, never engaging in conflict or anything remotely terrifying.

"My god! Miss, what are you doing?"

The sound of someone shouting had her eyes snapping open and she turned to see a young security guard staring at her from where he stood by the metal gate.

"The kid!" She screamed back as her head motioned to in front of her. A look of confusion appeared on the man's face and she looked back only to gasp, her eyes widening. He wasn't there anymore. Fear and panic filled her soul as she shuffled forward unconsciously to peer hesitantly over the ledge.

"Miss!" The panic filled voice of the man had her turning to see him running towards her. She didn't realize just how close her foot had slipped to the edge when a huge gust of wind suddenly blew against them. Her heel slipped on the wet concrete and then she was careening backwards.

The security guard reached out to try and grab her hand, but it was to late. Her body had already been pushed off the ledge and she was now free falling towards the grounds below. The wind whipped around her, and she didn't even have the chance to scream as it rushed past her ears at deafening levels.

She didn't feel the cold of the rain on her body anymore or hear the screams below her at her descent towards the inevitable. The pure, unaltered fear coursing through her blood stalled as suddenly, it was all over. She didn't feel her body impact the concrete sidewalk, causing every bone to shatter instantly. She didn't feel any of it.

Worry, pain, sadness, love, joy, happiness. It all seemed to be blown away by the wind as her world went black. All she could see was the smiling face of that little blonde haired, blue eyes little boy.

…..

In a dark, ancient forest. The otherwise silent night was pierced with the sound of an other worldly swooshing. As quick as it came, it was gone. The stillness returned to forest, the trees giving a groan to the disturbance of their home. The only evidence it even occurred was the swirling of leaves as they settled back down onto the ground. Some falling onto the person now laying there. Their hair blending into the darkness, pale skin a stark contrast to the striking red dress she wore. Her feet were bare, for whatever shoes she had been wearing, were now gone.

A stream of moonlight broke free from the thick canopy of trees above to shine on her face. Whispers from above floating down to be absorbed into the flesh of her body. Her once still heart, started to beat faintly within her chest. Bones mended themselves, blood flowed back through her body.

Dark green eyes snapped open as her mouth opened to suck in precious lungs full of air. Her body shivered as the cold of the night hit her now sensitive flesh, goosebumps forming along the flesh of her exposed arms and legs.

Twenty-four-year-old Taylor Mason sat up as her eyes frantically looked around. Where was she? What happened? The last thing she remembered was falling off a building, and then darkness. Was she in a forest?

It was to dark to be able to make anything out. Other than the trees that seemed to loom over her. Coils of vaporous mist enwrapped the shaggy heads of the trees. They writhed around them like a conjuror's milky smoke, sensuous and illusory. A gloomy silence overhung the hallowed ground where the trees dared not grow. Nothing stirred, nothing shone, nothing sang. A hollow echoing, like the hushed tones of a great, slabbed cathedral, entombed the wood. The forest felt old, reeking with age.

Slowly, and on unbalanced legs, she stood. Her bare feet meeting the cool, moss covered ground. Where was she? Fear like none she ever felt before took root inside her soul. She had never been in such a dark place before, with nothing and no one.

This had to be a nightmare. Right?

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 **Well, I want to thank you for reading. Even if this was just a short little intro. I will hopefully have the next chapter up in a couple days. Please, do leave any kind of reviews. I do take criticism as long as it is within reason and not hatefully spoken. You are all amazing.**

 **Till next time.**


	2. Journey through the Woods

**Whew! Got this one done in the two days I promised! I'm moving this coming Tuesday so, my days are going to be spent packing. Joyful. If no one has realized she is in Fangorn, and my lord that place is hard to write ya know. In the Book's and Movies we only really see the southern parts of the forest and not the northern areas. That's where I placed her. More northern. I fought with myself on exactly where I wanted her to travel. In this story, Taylor is NOT going to know the future events. She will have recalled the legends and myths of Elves, and Dwarves and other beings. For all the scrolls and books that survived the wars had become scarce in the future. so knowledge is limited and they are all considered myth. Thank you all for reading!**

 **Disclaimer: I own nothing but my OC**

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It was most definitely a nightmare.

She decided the best course of action was to start walking. Even with the forest being bathed in nothing but icky darkness. She knew she couldn't stay in one spot at least. If these woods were like anything else she has ever been in, then she knew wild animals were probably roaming around.

As if to prove her point, a sudden howl had her jumping as she looked back in the direction she came. She froze when a noise reached her. With how silent it was, the growl sounded like it was right behind her. Cautiously, she turned to peer off into the blackness of the abyss.

A hidden wind blew above, shaking the leaves of the trees enough to let a few strands of light rain down onto the forest floor. Her eyes widened when she caught sight of just what was making the growling sound. Two very large yellow eyes were staring back into her own. Out of the darkness, came two, no three more pairs of eyes. Lips pulled back to show off razor sharp teeth and she let out an involuntary whimper.

A pack of wolves. Very hungry looking wolves.

She had no weapon to defend herself. She could barely see two feet in front of her. She was going to die. Be torn apart by a pack of ravaging wolves. The moonlight that was being allowed to shine down, was slowly fading.

The tree next to her gave a hearty groan, scaring not only her but the wolves as well. She let out a small scream as a branch seemed to weave and twist its way down towards the wolves. As they startled and started to growl at the tree, she took her chance to book it out of there.

Taylor was only able to get a couple feet before the wolves gave chase. She was always a successful runner. Running was how she kept in shape. With being only 5 feet 5 inches and weighing at 130 pounds. She ended up having to pull her dress up and over her knees to be able to run faster, but even with that, the wolves were gaining on her.

She tried using the terrain to better suit her needs, but with zero visibility, she was more worried about tripping over roots that seemed to rise to meet her ankles; than trying to jump and do backflips. As if. She felt something sharp hit the back of her calf and gave a small cry as she stumbled. Risking the glance back, she screamed when a wolf was literally just inches away from sinking its teeth into her flesh once more. It had only nipped her the first time.

As it's mouth opened to clamped down on her leg, the root of a tree literally sprung up and slammed down on the wolf's neck. If she hadn't been so frightened, she would have stopped and stared. Instead, it pushed her to go even faster. She could see a small break in the leaves up ahead, moonlight was streaming down through the canopy and she spotted the perfect climbing tree.

Silently, she prayed this tree wasn't some magical root moving tree. She let go of her dress and jumped up, grabbing hold of a branch and swung her legs up. The sound of fabric ripping could be heard as one wolf lunged for her, missing her back and hitting the edge of her dress, ripping a good-sized chunk out of it.

Taylor was able to climb up onto a higher branch and looked down to see the wolves a good foot below. As they jumped up, snapping their jaws at her feet, she decided to climb a little higher until she was sure they could not get her.

Her arms wrapped around the trunk of the tree as she pressed her face flat against it. She was far to terrified to even move to look at the bite on her leg or see how badly her dress was ripped. She stayed like that, her body pressed against the tree until the wolves finally gave up on making a meal out of her and ran off.

Even once they were gone, she didn't let go. Silent tears were sliding down her pale cheeks. Why was she here? Where the hell was she even? Was this some sick joke someone was trying to play on her? Her ex-boyfriend Mathew maybe? Her old boss? Her partial frenemy Bethany?

If this was someone's idea of a joke, she was not laughing. How did she get from falling off a building to suddenly being inside some dark, dank, creep ass forest! A forest that had trees that she could have sworn moved and the way were groaning, was like they were talking.

Did someone give her drugs? Was her latte laced with a hallucinogenic? Had she imagined this whole darn day?

Finally feeling brave enough, she opened her eyes and did her best to try and see around her. The tree she was in, hadn't groaned or moved yet, so she took that as a good sign. She wiped her face with the sleeve of her dress and sniffled.

It was lighter in the forest now, she could start to make out the things around her. Slowly, rays of sunshine penetrated the dark and drove the cold and dreary away. Hesitantly, she moved on the branch she was sitting on until her back was pressed against the trunk and brought her leg up to look at her calf.

The bite wasn't that bad, considering. There was dried blood that tracked a trail from the bite to her heel, small rivulets of fresh blood made its way down to drip onto the grass below. A small chunk of her flesh was missing, and shallow cuts spread out on each side of the wound. From where the wolfs teeth scraped her skin.

She needed to find a way to clean the blood off and stop it from bleeding. Taking a deep breath, she slowly started to make her way down the tree. For some reason, she felt compelled to say thank you to the tree for letting her hide in its branches.

She was going crazy.

Once her feet hit the fallen leaves and grass below. She looked down at the ruined part of her dress. It had once hung snug to her knees, but now it blew open freely to her mid-thigh. The wolf had torn a chunk off and ripped it. Not seeing any other option, she bent down and grasped the torn fabric and ripped a lengthy piece off. There went $179 dollars.

She sat down on a tree root to wrap her small piece of cloth around her wound. Making sure it was tight enough and wouldn't slip down her leg. Once that was done, she sat there for a moment as she gazed about the trees.

There was really no way to describe what she was seeing. From the way the trees twisted and bent, how the roots curved into the air, to the moss that littered the ground and tree trunks. This forest was old. It was nothing like she had ever seen before.

Deciding that sitting there wasn't going to help her get out any faster. Taylor climbed to her feet and started to walk in a random direction. Well, she was hoping it was west. From the way the rays of sunlight were bending into the thick canopy above, the sun was behind her. As she walked, the trees grew closer and closer together, the air grew colder and staler. She was struggling to get a full breath in, even though she knew the sun had to be high in the sky, it was dark now. It wasn't as dark as it would be at night, but like someone had put a shade over the sun.

The forest was primordial. Centuries-old trees with sprawling limbs guarded the darkness, blotting out any sunlight. Their bark was mottled and splotched, as if bubbled soup had been frozen in time on its surface. Clumpy combs of wet moss dangled from their rotten bough. Bewailing sounds ghosted through the trees. It was truly a place to make the blood in her veins freeze over.

Her mouth was dry, as she swallowed, the ache in her throat was not soothed. Her stomach rumbled from both hunger and nervousness. She had no idea what was edible in this forest. She didn't pay very good attention to biology in high school or the class she took in college. Now, she wished she did.

She could only remember a few things edible in the wild. Yet, nothing in this forest looked inviting to try. The human body could last approximately three weeks without food, but without water. She didn't feel like dying of dehydration.

Every little noise would cause her to jump. Her brain on constant alert for more wolves or other wild animals. It was cool in this part of the forest, even with it being darker. Her paranoia was getting the best of her. Her mind was playing tricks on her. She could have sworn the tree limbs were reaching down towards her, trying to grasp for her.

At one point her hair was snagged by a branch and it took her a lot of effort to be able to get it untangled from the tree. After that, she ripped more of her dress and used it as a makeshift hair tie, to try and keep it out of the branches reach.

She didn't know how far she walked, or if she was even going in a straight line. All to soon, it was becoming dark once more and as the last visible rays of the sun started to fade. Taylor found a tree and started to climb it once more.

She spoke quietly to it, as she climbed its sturdy branches. She found a branch that would be side enough for her to sit on and not fall off. Her body was tired, from being up through the night and walking all day. Her eyes felt heavy, and her legs hurt. She prayed the wolf that bit her did not have rabies.

Was she on a reality show? Try and survive the wilds and not get eaten alive? She had watched a few of those shows growing up, to where people tried to take on the jungles and islands. Well, she hated to burst their bubbles but that wasn't her! The most adventurous she has gotten in her life was going camping with her friends in college for a week. There were no cameras though, not that she could see.

She needed to find a way out of this forest! She didn't know if she was even still in Washington! She was sure that no trees there acted as if they were alive!

"Stop it." She let her head fall back against the trunk of the tree. No use in spurring her imagination on anymore than it already was. If she ever got out of here, she was going to smack the one responsible for dumping her in this place. She scowled at the thought. Whoever it was, they were heartless.

It was truly night out now. She could hear wild animals prowling down below and she really hoped there were no giant snakes that liked to sleep in these trees. Her eyes closed on their own accord and she had to snap them open as her head bobbed.

The branch she was sitting on was just wide enough that she could lay down on it. Not being able to fight off the exhaustion, she laid with her tummy on the branch, her arms coming to wrap around it tightly.

"Oh, don't let me fall off please." She whispered more to herself. As her eyes closed and sleep clouded her brain, she did not see the tree moving its branches to slowly wrap around her body, securing her to the branch she was on.

When she awoke, a few streams of sunlight were falling threw the leaves and onto her face. Groggily, she attempted to sit up, only for her back to hit something hard. Her eyes snapped open as she looked around.

"Holy shit."

She looked the branches over, one was literally curled around herself and the branch she was laying on. it looked like the spiral of trees Tarzan went sailing down on his feet in the trees when they are playing that 'Son of Man' song.

It took her a while to get out of the ensnarement, but eventually she was able too. Once out, she gazed at the branches in fascination and horror. Okay, this forest was freaking alive! How the hell was that possible? She pinched her skin to make sure she was awake and not dreaming. Not dreaming.

"I need to get out of here."

As she made her way back down the tree, she stopped when her feet hit the ground and did a full spin. Which way did she come from yesterday? She had no idea. Yeah, she could use the sun as a marker, but what if she was now going northeast or northwest, or maybe-

"Stop it!" She told her mind. Looking back up, she sighed. Perhaps she could climb to the top and see if there were any visible landmarks. Taking a deep breath, she started to climb back up the tree. Her pace was slow, not wanting to slip and fall. The branches at the top weren't as thick as they were towards the bottom, so she had to be careful with which one she grabbed hold of.

Finally, her head broke free enough for her to see over the treetops and she groaned outload. All she could see were more and more trees. Off in the far distance she could see a mountain range, but it was shrouded in mist. Every other direction was nothing but wide expansion of trees.

If she was correct, from the way the sun was moving across the sky, the mountains were to her west. Turning to what she wanted to say was northeast, she blinked then squinted. Was that a river?

It was a river!

She could barely make it out from all the trees. River meant water, water meant possible survival. Feeling some semblance of hope, she started to make her way down the tree. In her haste and hurry, her foot slipped on a moss-covered part of the branch and she fell.

She had a split second of terrifying horror as she fell through the air and then her body hit the ground. The air was knocked out of her lungs and she cried out when her arm got caught under her body. Tears of pure anguish pooled in her eyes and fell down her cheeks as she rolled into a ball and cradled her arm.

It took several deep breaths, in through her nose and out through her mouth before she could blink the black dots out of her vision. Glancing down at her am, she made sure no bones were sticking out. She sure broke something though or bruised the hell out of it.

Keeping her arm to her chest, she pushed herself up and stood on shaky legs. Okay, okay. She had this, she could do this. She could make it the river, then hopefully follow it and find people. Someone who would rescue her and take her back to the city.

"Great Taylor, you've been lost in this forest for barely two days and already you've almost been a wolfs dinner. You can't get food or water and now you might have broken your arm!" Yes, grumbling to herself was the perfect idea. "What a girl scout you are!"

The longer she walked, the more she ached. Her leg had stopped bleeding but without cleaning the wound. Who knew what kind of infections she was getting. Her feet had little cuts from stepping on twigs and sharp little rocks. Where were her shoes anyway? Then again, the last she remembered she was wearing heels so that wasn't really hiking footwear.

Gosh! Why was it so hot! Sweat was rolling down neck, chest and back. Her thighs were getting raw from rubbing together. The humidity in the forest was reaching unbearable levels. Why? It was just so cool under these canopies!

This made her walking miserable as she fought off the exhaustion of walking in such temperatures. With no wind blowing through the trees, it only made it worse. The air was stale, and the heat just hung suspended in the air, the thick leaves above not letting it escape.

It took her three more days of walking to reach the river. By this time, she was showing severe signs of dehydration. She was so dizzy and exhausted, she had to stop more than she wanted to rest. Her body was pushing its limit. She barely slept now, having to sleep in the trees every night and with her arm still injured, it was now even more difficult to climb up into them.

Her throat was raw, and it hurt now to swallow, even her own spit to even get something down to sooth the dryness had not helped and with her body drying up, was not produced as much. The sound of the rushing river was music to her ears and she stumbled from the trees and onto the rocky bank. She had to crawl the last few feet to the water's edge. Her hand touched it first and she drug her tired body close enough to bring her hand to her mouth and drink the sweet, cool, water.

She did not care that it was a _river_ and was probably teeming with all kinds of bacteria. It could have been a bloody mud pit and she wouldn't have cared, as long as it was water.

Once her thirst had been relieved, she pulled her body into the shallow waters of the bank. She laid on her back, the water running over and under legs and moving her hair gently in its current. It took more effort than she wanted to admit sitting up and to remove the strip of cloth off her leg to inspect the bite. It didn't look _that bad._ Although she could see there was puss in the hole to where her flesh was removed.

She cleaned it the best she could and rewrapped it. Next, she tore more of her dress off and used it as a makeshift rag to scrub the sweat and dirt off her body. Splashing the cool water on her heated face, felt like heaven. Once she deemed herself clean, she fell back against the rocks once more, her lower body still submerged in the water.

Her head fell to the side and she opened an eye to peer down the bank. She sat up when something caught her eye. Was that? Oh my gosh it was! Scrambling to her feet, she hurriedly walked towards the grass along the bank and dropped to her knees and ripped up the plant.

Cattails. Wild growing cattails!

They could be eaten without boiling them and she quickly pulled a few up and washed a few rootstalks off in the water and bit into them. The earthy, grassy flavor tasted like she had just bit into the best piece of chocolate on earth. She ate a few of them and sat back on her butt as she looked out over the river. She pulled the corn-dog looking flower top off and after a quick wash, ate the pollen out of them like she was eating corn on the cob. She was glad she listened to her grandfather about what parts were edible on these plants.

A fish jumped and she suddenly longed to have fishing pole or something. Fish sounded so good.

She was only able to eat a few Cattails before her stomach protested its fullness. That was okay though, she had gotten some kind of sustenance in her body. Taylor sat there, on the bank of the river until it had grown dark. She took refuge in the trees once more, only being able to get a few hours' sleep.

The next morning, she drank some water and ate a couple more cattails.

"What do I do now?" She wondered aloud as she sat on the bank, watching the water rush down the river.

"Find my mommy."

Hearing the voice behind her, she whirled around her mouth falling open at the sight of the little boy from before. How? Who? What the hell? There he was, same yellow jacket and blue jeans. Same big blue eyes and blonde hair.

Now she knew she had either gone crazy or she was dead, or she was dreaming all this crap up. Yeah, that was it! she was dreaming, it wasn't even Monday morning yet. She was never late to work, never fired. She didn't climb out onto the top of a ledge in a building to rescue the same little boy standing in front of her!

Nope, no! This was not happening! No way! She refused to play along any longer!

Yet, the ache in her leg and arm were real. The bruises on her body and how she got them, were very real. The water rolling over her toes was cold and very much real. The warmth of the sun beating down on her skin. All these things her senses were feeling and smelling and seeing, were _real!_ Opening her eyes, she found the little boy was still standing in front of her.

"Where is your mommy?" She felt ridiculous, talking to something that was probably just her imagination. The little boy lifted an arm and pointed down the river.

Her eyes followed, and she looked down to where the river curled around the bank of some trees and disappeared. Feeling confused she looked back at the boy only, surprise, he was no longer there.

"That's it, I am going freaking crazy!" She growled to herself. She didn't know what to do. Follow the direction that her imagination had cooked up?

She was starting to freak out on how utterly lost and scared she was. By now, she would have had to see some kind of civilization. Either it be people hiking, or planes and helicopters flying overhead. Nothing of the sort though. There was nothing that showed people existed here.

So, where the heck was she? South America? Montana? Narnia?! She snorted at herself. Narnia, please! She was being ridiculous!

The sudden howling of wolves nearby had her decision made! No way was she going to experience THAT again! She stayed along the bank as she made her way down the river, being cautious of any aquatic animals they be on the banks or lurking in the shallows.

For hours, she walked along the banks. A few times, she had to actually get in the river and swim for the trees had grown along the bank and she could not walk it. She didn't dare stray away from the water, for fear of her losing sight on it.

She was so wrapped up inside her head she never realized when the trees started to thin out and grasslands were now stretched out in front of her. When a harsh breeze blew through, causing her to shiver violently from the wetness of her dress and body; did she finally take note of her surroundings.

She almost cried at seeing the rolling plains and hills. No more dark forest! Her excitement was short lived though, the river she was following stretched on and on, as far as she could see. Should she continue following it?

Something told her that she had followed it enough, she needed to now cross these plains. But that meant leaving the water and edible water-based plants. From where the sun was, she maybe had 2-3 hours left of daylight. Another shiver escaped her, and she wrapped her arm around her torso. She still couldn't move her left arm very well, and from the bruises that decorated from her elbow to her wrist, she had to have broken something. It was colder out here. Before the trees had sheltered her from the colder wind, heck it was even HOT inside. Out here, it was colder.

Looking down at her dress, she frowned at seeing she had ripped it enough that it was just below mid-thigh. There were no more cattails here, and she had nothing to carry any water in. She needed to move on though, she had too. For her own survival.

She drank a little more water from the river and took in a deep breath. She could do this, she could make it out there. If she survived four days inside a forest, she could do wide open plains! Stilling her nerves, she nodded in determination and took the first steps away from the forest and out onto the grasslands.

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 **Thank you to the ones that have decided to follow this story! You're awesome!**

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 _ **lotty-x:**_ **I am glad you enjoyed the first chapter! Thank you for your review!**

 _Guest:_ **OMG! I didn't even realize that! MY laptop corrected the spelling and my Beta nor I caught that. OMG. Thank you. I hope you enjoyed this chapter as well.**

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 _Tenna' ento lye omenta!_


	3. Run, run, run!

**Hello, so I wasn't going to post this today. I actually was going to wait until Monday or after I got settled at my new house. Yet, it is Friday and well, everyone deserves a break on Friday's. Plus, I have the next two chapters completed anyhow, although they will not be posted until next week. I do hope you all enjoy this. I usually shoot for a 5K word count each chapter, but with this it's going to be 3-5K each chapter. So, please enjoy. The next chapter...bah.**

 **Now if any of you are _Edge of Night_ fans, I am still working on the sequel. I don'y have an official Beta, but a good friend does look over my chapters for me. **

**Thank you for taking the time to read this work in progress of mine. This is going to be fun for me. I am quite excited on where this is going to go. I will also warn, after the** _big scene_ **, the story isn't going to be just like the books or movies. My story is already going to be slight AU.**

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

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She took it back. She missed the forest. At least in the forest she was protected by the trees. It was cold out here, being in the open air. Taylor spent more time gawking at her surroundings then actually staying on the course she was meant to. Several times she had stop and turn back in the correct direction. There was nothing out here but grass and hilltops.

Sure, a few trees were or there and, in some parts, there were a cluster of them. Boulders and other rocks were littered all over the landscape as well. Wildflowers that she had never seen before grew in droves everywhere she looked. For a moment, it was like she was Yellowstone again. Where the Buffalo roamed freely over the plains.

When it grew dark, she tried to find the best place for her to rest. She could see at night, when the clouds weren't obscuring the light of the moon; but she was too afraid to walk in the dark. Some 6th sense whispering to her that it wasn't safe.

So, she would curl up near rocks, sliding between them if they were big enough, or near any trees that were around. If she thought the Forest was creepy at night with the wildlife, then this was down right petrifying. The sounds she could hear, coming from around her was enough to keep her awake.

At one point she thought she heard voices, but they were garbled and warped and by the time she had made it out of her hiding spot, the voices were gone. She heard horrifying screams of animals as they died, and other frightful things. Needless to say, she had gotten little to no sleep the past few nights.

One night she had fallen asleep curled under a bush, not realizing that it was the home of some kind of bugs and she woke up in the middle of the night with them crawling all over her and biting into her flesh. They weren't ants, but their bites left her itching and she had red dots over her legs and arms now, more not seen under her dress.

She was also getting dehydrated again. There weren't any water sources out here, that she could tell. Well, none that she had found yet. Food was on short supply. She found a berry bush and tried eating some, but she ended up making herself violently sick. She stayed clear of those kinds if berries for now on. She was lucky to come across some clovers and she ate a few of the grass tasting plants. Unlike cattails, these tasted awful without being boiled, but with how hungry she was, she didn't care.

Her biggest obstacle was the cold. She didn't know why, but it was so much colder out here. The nights were the worst. She would lay awake hugging herself as her teeth chattered loudly from the cold.

It wasn't like inside the forest, it kept itself warm and the denser the foliage the warmer the air that seemed to be in it's midst. It was able to retain the warmth and keep the cold from the outside world out.

From how cold it was getting, Taylor could only guess that it was approaching winter. Which threw her for a loop. Just the other day it was June, the summer had just started. So, how was it winter? Unless she was on the other side of the world and if that was the case. Taylor was seriously going to throw a tantrum when she found whoever dumped her here.

They had a lot to answer for and she was going to get her answers.

"Ow! Dang it!"

She started to hop on foot when she stepped on something sharp. She ended up falling on her rear end to inspect her now bleeding foot. What the hell? She turned her angry eyes back to the ground, her brows pulling down as she noticed something shiny reflect the suns light.

Reaching out with a shaky hand, she picked up whatever the object was and studied it. An arrow tip? It was dark in color and was just the tip and maybe a few inches of the black shaft. Why would there be an arrow out here?

Growling in annoyance she looked back at her foot. It wasn't bleeding to severely, only a small cut that ran along the arch of her foot. Great, that was just great. She wasn't ripping anymore of her dress, so instead she took her hair down and wrapped the piece she was using as a hair tie around her foot.

Her hair. She was disgusted by its state. It was so tangled and oily. She would kill for some shampoo and soap. Heck, just some warm water to soak in.

Thoughts of all the luxury items she used to have access to was making her depressive mood all the more depressing. She was never taking running water or hygiene products for granted again! If she was ever able to find civilization and was able to bathe and BRUSH, HER TEETH!

She didn't even want to know how badly her breath smelt. From the taste in her mouth, she knew it wasn't pleasant. Plus, she was filthy all over. Her legs and feet had turned black from the dirt and her poor dress; dirt and mud stained. Her arms and face weren't any better. All streaked with dirt and other filth.

Finally done feeling sorry for herself, she stood backup and looked down at the arrow tip in her hands. Deciding to keep it, just in case, she tucked it into a small hole on the side of her dress and started walking yet again. She missed cars, and transportation.

The sun was hidden today. Dark clouds rolled over the sky and she prayed to whatever gods were out there that it did not rain. They obviously didn't hear her or care because a crack of thunder was heard a few moments later.

If she knew one thing, it wasn't safe to be out in the open if it rained. Then again, they also said not to be near a tree in a lighting storm. As if on cue, lightning struck the ground somewhere in front of her. Not close enough that it was near her, but close that the flash of it momentarily blinded her.

As she blinked the spots from her eyes, the rain started to fall. In a matter of minutes, she was soaked to the bone. Not wanting to be an overly whiny person, she used the downpour to try and clean the dirt off herself. A quick glance around and she found a small pile of boulders nearby. She pulled the arrow from her dress and laid it down and after a few moments, pulled her dress off over her head. She felt awkward standing there in nothing but her underwear, but she didn't have a choice. She laid her dress out on one of the boulders and sat down on smaller one.

Her back was against the larger and she tilted her face up to let the rain run down it. Rubbing her hand over her body, she tried getting as much dirt off as she could. All to soon though, she was shivering as the cold set in.

Standing up, she picked her dress up and pulled it back over her head. It didn't help fight off the cold, being wet, but at least her body had some kind of protection. She curled back up on the smaller rock and burrowed back between the two others. She tilted her head back once more and opened her mouth.

She must have looked like a fool, her mouth open like that. However, as the cool rain washed over her sore throat she did not care. She did this for several minutes, hoping whatever went in her mouth would keep the dehydration at bay and give her body some kind of relief. She gripped her arrow shaft in her hand tightly as she tried to huddle as close as possible to rocks. Her shaking never ceasing, she was so cold.

Somehow, she was able to fall asleep. It didn't last long though, as she woken up by her violent shivers. As her eyes blinked open, she was aware of the moonlight now bathing her face. The storm clouds had moved on but left behind an unbearable coldness. She knew the longer she sat still, her body not getting any warmth. The higher her risk of catching pneumonia or hypothermia.

Daylight was still several hours away, but she needed to move. Her legs protested the movement as she forced herself to stand. Every step sent painful tremors up her legs. Like a thousand pinpricks, only it was worse than the feeling of when your foot fell asleep. She whimpered with every step. She kept her arms tucked closely to her chest as she walked.

By the time the sun rose and offered any sibilance of warmth, she was already showing signs of sickness. Her nose was running, and her shivering was worse. Her pulse had gotten weak and her breathing was shallower, and she knew certain parts of her skin were blue.

This was not good, not good at all. If she could cry, she knew she would be. Yet, no tears formed. Walking wasn't doing anything to warm her body and if she didn't find someway to get warm fast. Taylor wasn't going to make it past another day. As she walked, she felt more and more miserable. All to soon it was becoming night once more and the little warmth the sun offered was snuffing itself out.

She slipped as she was walking up a rather tall hill and ended up face planting the ground. Pushing herself up, she spit the mud that made it into her mouth out. So much good her little rain bath did. She was once more covered in mud, down the front of her body. She contemplated just laying there till death took her.

Unfortunately, it seemed fate had other plans for her because at that moment. She heard something, up ahead on the other side of the hill. Voices. People were talking.

A sense of hope flared within her chest and she scrambled to her feet and ran as fast as she could up the hill and came to a stop at the top. Down below a small fire was going and there people around it. They looked big and from their skin color, they were darker than normal.

She didn't care though, there was someone ALIVE! She hurriedly made her way down the hill and came to a stop about ten feet away from their small camp. The smile on her face was wiped off when she was able to catch a glimpse of the _people_ as they turned towards her.

Never in her life had Taylor ever seen something so horrifyingly ugly! There were 8 of them and they were all staring at her with their big, red and yellow eyes. Their skin colors were a range of green, grey and black.

They were short in stature and humanoid in shape. A few were flat-nosed and sallow-skinned. All of them were bow-legged, with wide mouths and slanted eyes, with long arms and fangs. They had fangs! Sharp teeth stuck out from their mouth, their skin looked rotted and decayed.

"What this? A mortal girl." One of them spoke and Taylor blinked at the creature.

What the hell?! Terror froze her heart in her chest and she forgot about her body possibly succumbing to hypothermia. What the heck were these things! She took a few steps back when they advanced on her and it was at that moment she noticed the weapons in their hands.

"She looks tasty. Barely any meat on her though. Does it squeal?" Another said, although it sounded like it was having a tough time talking, its mouth snapping oddly, and its tongue came out to lick at the air.

Oh god, oh god. She was going to die. As they crept closer she took more steps back. One stepped on a twig and snapped it, making her jump. One of them took that opportunity to jump at her and she screamed as she moved away, but it's dirty weapon still grazed over her thigh.

A hand found its way around her throat and she was lifted off her feet and into the air. Her eyes stared down in horror at the thing, its rancid breath making her gag as her legs kicked the air helplessly.

"Can you scream, mortal girl?" The creature asked as it pulled her face closer. "I say we have some fun with her first."

Taylor's green eyes widened in both revulsion and panic. As the beast licked her face, she felt something brush her thigh and suddenly remembered her arrow tip. Her hand fell away from trying to pull the monsters hand from her throat as she grasped the arrow and pulled it out. Without hesitating, she plunged it into the beast's eye.

It howled and dropped her. As the others froze to watch the one she stabbed, she took that moment to stumble to her feet and took off running. The sound of their shrieking could be heard as they gave chase. She could feel her own blood running down her thigh from where it was cut before by one of them. That didn't stop her though.

She never looked back for fear of tripping and falling on her face. Instead she ran as fast as she could. Ignoring the pain in her legs, feet and throat. In the cover of darkness, she was at a disadvantage but that didn't stop her. Not once did she slow, even when her breathing become harsh and it hurt to even try and make her lungs work.

The warmth her body was getting from running was clashing horribly with the cold that had settled inside her bones. Her body temperature was rising, but not from the exertion, but from a fever. She was literally running herself to her death.

As she broke free on top another hill, she let out a cry when something whizzed past her ear and imbedded in the trunk of the tree next to her. It was a black arrow. She took one moment to glance over her shoulder and found them running up the hill she had just went up.

Her momentum didn't stop as she ran as fast as she could down the hill, and she ended up tripping over her own feet. Rocks cut into her hands and legs, but that still did not stop her. Tears were now flowing freely down her dirt stained cheeks, as she pushed herself up and started to run again. A limp was in her step, slowing her down more.

She needed to find a place to hide. The clouds moved away from the moon and in the darkness, she could see it up ahead. Trees, lots and lots of trees. A forest! If she could only make it there! It looked to be a good mile away and the stretch of land between her and there was nothing but grass.

No boulders, no trees. Nothing. There was nothing to protect her from the monsters chasing her.

Their shrieking was growing closer and Taylor decided she didn't care. She took off running once more and didn't slow down at all. Her body was being weighed down heavily from bone deep fatigue. She could hear her heart beating loudly in her ears, as it tried to pump blood into her frozen veins.

Another scream left her when a sharp pain hit her side and she risked the glance down as an arrow sailed in front of her. She had just stumbled, and that stumble had caused the arrow fired at her to miss its mark and graze her side.

Come on body. Don't give out on me!

She silently begged as the tree line grew closer and closer. Her side was burning, a slow fire making its way up her side and into her chest. Her body started to weaken. As soon as she cleared the trees and ran into the forest, it gave out.

She was maybe, 70 to 80 feet within the borders of the trees when the strength in her legs failed and she crumbled to the ground. She lay there, her face pressed into the soft grass as she struggled to breath. Short, shallow gasps of air was all she could manage.

The hollow pain that spread throughout her flesh, was mending its way inside her soul. She was numb, no feeling was in her legs anymore. The sweat on her body was cold and her shivering returned with a vengeance as she lay there.

It didn't take long for those beasts to come crashing into the forest after her. She blinked blurry eyes, their figures hard to make out from the fog that was hovering over her mind. She could hear them chuckling to each other. Commenting on how she had nothing left, she was defeated. Angry tears spilt over her cheeks. They were right, she was defeated. She had nothing left.

No strength to even stand, no strength to even move one tired, useless muscle. As one came forward, it kicked her in her stomach roughly. She cried out in pain as her body was knocked back a few feet. The power that beast had in its kick was like nothing she had ever felt before.

Another kick to her ribs and she screamed louder as white-hot agony erupted in her side. Her ribs were definitely just broken or cracked. Her hair was roughly grabbed, and she was yanked off the ground to stare into blurry yellow eyes, her arrow tip was still sticking out of its eye.

A fist landed on her face and she whimpered as her lip was split open. As the thing drew its arm back once more, she seen the knife in its hand. She was truly about to die. Die at the hands of a monster. She kept her eyes open as its smiled evilly at her, in joy at the pain she was in, the joy it was about to get from killing her.

As the thing moved to stab her, it froze, its eyes going wide and then she was dropped. The knife fell from its other hand and then it to fell forward next to her. She instantly spotted the arrow sticking out of its back.

She could hear the other beasts shrieking and could faintly make out the sound of the soft thunk their bodies made as they too fell to the forest floor dead. Still, she did not move. Her blurry eyes stayed fixed on the dead beast next to her.

Feeling slowly left her body and she was sinking into the blackness around her. She didn't feel the hands that gently took hold of her arms and rolled her over. Her eyes didn't see the one that was speaking to her. In a language that even if she were aware, she would not know. She did not feel herself being lifted into strong arms. She was to numb. Body, mind and soul. She had no feeling.

Her last thought was on that blonde haired little boy and why she kept seeing him before she let it all slip away into darkness.

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 **OOHHHHHH! We are finally there! Where I wanted to be and now the really fun stuff begins. So! Let's go. Well, the next update is going to be in a week, so I hope to see you all there.**

 _Review replies :_

 ** _The Observer 2.0: It will be a long one yes, I have the first 40 or so chapters already fleshed out and mapped out. Thank you for your review!_**

Till we meet again. Next week.


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